LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf _;.„. 



tXAl 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, i 



ARTICLES 



OF A 



CONSTITUTION 



ADOPTED BY THE 



PEOPLED CONVENTION, 



HELD OCTOBER 4, 1841, 



AND POSTPONED TO NOVEMBER 16, 

•a. 



FOR FINAL CONSIDERATION 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE CONVENTION 



PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
OFFICE OF THE NEW AGE, 

18 4 1. 






^ 



PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 

In session of the CONVENTION of the PEOPLE of RHODE-ISLAND, 

October 9th, 1841, it was voted, that the Convention adjourn, to meet again at 
Providence, on the 3d Tuesday of November next (the 16th day) at 2 o'clock P. M. 
It was also voted, that a Committee of five be appointed to arrange in proper or- "" 
der, and cause to be engrossed,the Articles of a Const. tution for this State, which • 
have been adopted by this Convention ; and, with the aid of the Secretaries, to 
publish the same, for the information of the PEOPLE. 

Thomas W. Dorr, and John A. Brown, of Providenee, — John R. Water- . 
man, of Warwick, — David Daniels, of Smithfield, — and Nathan Bardin, of' 
Bristol, were appointed this Committee. 

A true copy from the Journal of the Convention. Attest : 

WILLIAM H. SMITH, 
JOHN S. HARRIS, 

Secretaries. 

The undersigned, in discharge of the duties of their appointment, publish, for 
the information of the People of this State, the following CONSTITUTION, 
containing Thirteen Articles adopted by the convention. After article 13th, will 
be found seveial Propositions, which were not acted upon, but which will come up t . 
for consideration at the next meeting of said Convention in November. , 

THOMAS W. DORR, 
JOHN A. BROWN, 
JOHN R. WATERMAN, 
DAVID DANIELS, 
NATHAN BARDIN. 
Committee. 
Providence, Oct , 13th, 1841, 



CONSTITUTION 

OP THE 

STATE OF RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. 



WE, the PEOPLE of the State of Rhode-Island and Providence JPlantationc 
grateful to Almighty God for his blessing vouchsafed to the " lively experiment" 
of Religious and Political Freedom here " held forth' 5 by our venerated ancestors, 
and earnestly imploring the favor of his gracious Providence toward this our at- 
tempt to secure, upon a permanent foundation, the advantages of well ordered and 
rational Liberty, and to enlarge and transmit to our successors the inheritance that 
we have received, do ordain and establish the following Constitution of Govern- 
ment for this State. 

ARTICLE I. 

Declaration of Principles, Rightfand Duties. 

1. In the spirit and in the words of Roger Williams, the illustrious Founder o* 
this State, and of his venerated associates, We declare, " that this government 
shall be a Democracy, 5 y or government of the people, "by the major consent" 
of the same, "only in civil thtngs." The will of the people shall be expressed 
by Representatives freely chosen, and returning at fixed periods to their constitu- 
ents. This State shall be, and forever remain, as in the design of its Founder, 
sacred to " Soul Liberty,' 5 to the rights of conscience, to freedom of thought, 
of expression and of action, as hereinafter set forth and secured. 

2. All men are created free and equal, and are endowed by their Creator with 
certain natural, inherent and inalienable Rights; among which are life, liberty, 
the acquisition of property, and the pursuit of happiness. Government cannot 
create or bestow these rights, which are the gift of God ; but it is instituted for 
the stronger and surer defense of the same ; that men may safely enjoy the 
rights of life and liberty, securely possess and transmit property, and, so fat as 
laws avail, may be successful in the pursuit of happiness. 

3. All political power and sovereignty are originally vested in, and of right be- 
long to the People. All free governments are founded in their authority, and are 
established for the greatest good of the whole number. The People have there- 
fore an inalienable and indefeasible right, in their original, sovereign and unlim- 
ited capacity, to ordain and institute government, and, in the same capacity, to 
alter, reform or totally change the same, whenever their safety or happiness re- 
quires. 



4. No favor or disfavor ought to be shown iu, legislation toward any, man, or 
party, or society or religious denomination; and the laws should be made not for 
the good of the few, but of the many; and the burdens of the State ought to be 
fairly distributed among its citizens. 

5. The diffusion of useful knowledge, and the cultivation of a sound morality, 
in the fear of God, being of the first importance in a Republican State, and in- 
dispensable to the maintainance of its liberty, it shall be an imperative duty of 
the Legislature to promote the establishment of Free Schools, and to assist in the 
support of Public Education. 

6. Every person in this State ought to find a certain remedy, by having re- 
course to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which may be done to his rights of 
person, property or character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely and 
without purchase, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay, 
conformably to the laws. 

7. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and 
possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and 
no warrant shall issue but on complaint in writing, upon probable cause, support- 
ed by oath or affirmation, and describing, as nearly as may be, the place to be 
searched, and the person or things to be seized. 

8. No person shall be held to answer to a capital or other infamous charge un-x 
less on indictment by a grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. — 
No person shall be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offense. 

9. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or 
unusual punishments inflicted; and all punishments ought to be proportioned to 
the offense. 

10. All prisoners shall be bailable in sufficient sureties, unless for capital offen- 
ses, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great. The privilege of the 
writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion, 
or invasion, the public safety shall require it. 

11. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the privilege of a speedy 
and public trial, by an impartial jury; be informed of the nature and cause of the 
accusation; be confronted with the witnesses against him; have compulsory pro- 
cess to obtain them in his favor; have the assistance of counsel in his defense, 
and be at liberty to speak for himself. Nor shall he be deprived of his life, lib- 
erty or property unless by the judgment of his peers, according to the law* of the 
land. 

12. Retrospective laws, civil and criminal, are unjust and oppressive, and shall 
not be made. 

13. No man in a Court of common law shall be compelled to give evidence a- 
gainst himself. 

14. Every man being presumed to be innocent, until pronounced guilty by the 
law, all acts of severity, that are not necessary to secure an accused person, ought 
to be repressed. 

15. The People have a right to assemble in a peaceable manner, without mo- 
lestation or restraint, to consult upon the public welfare; to give instructions to 
their Senators and Representatives; to apply to those invested with the powers of 
Government for redress of grievances, for the repeal of injurious laws, for the 
correction of faults of administration, and for all other purposes. 

/ 16. The liberty of the Press being essential to the security of freedom in a 



State, any citizen may publish his sentiments on any subject, being responsible 
for the abuse of that liberty; and in all trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the 
truth, spoken from good motives and for justifiable ends, shall be a sufficient de- 
fense to the person 'charged. 

17. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 

18. Private property shall not be taken for public uses without just compensa- 
tion; nor unless the public good require it ; nor under any circumstances until 
compensation shall have been made, if required. 

19. The military .power shall always be held in strict subordination to the civil 
authority. 

20. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the 
consent of the owner; nor in time of war but in manner to be prescribed by law. 

21. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free, and all attempts to in- 
fluence it by temporal punishments, or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend 
to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness; and whereas a principal object of our 
venerated ancestors in their migration to this country, and their settlement of this 
State, was, as they expressed it, to hold fortli a lively experiment, that a flourish- 
ing civil State may stand, and be best maintained, with full liberty in religious con- 
cernments, We therefore declare, that no man shall be compelled to frequent, or 
support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor be enforced, re- 
strained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor disqualified from hold- 
ing any office, nor otherwise suffer on account of his religious belief; and that all 
men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in mat- 
ters of religion ; and, that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect 
tieir civil capacities; and that all other religious rights and privileges of the 
pBople of this State, asnow enjoyed, shall remain inviolate and inviolable. 

22. No witness shall be called in question before the Legislature, nor in any 
Court of this State, nor before any magistrate, or other peison, authorised to ad- 
minister an oath, or affirmation, for his or her religious belief, or opinions, or any 
part thereof; and no objection to a witness, on the ground of his or her religious 
opinions, shall be entertained or received. 

23. The citizens shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the rights of 
fishery, and privileges of the shore, to which they have been heretofore entitled 
under the charter and usages of this State. 

24. The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed to impair 
v nor deny others retained by the people. #- 

25. The General Assembly shall have no power hereafter to incur State debts, 
to an amount exceeding the sum of Fifty Thousand dollars, except in time of war, 
or in case of invasion, without the express consent of the People. Every propo- 
sition for such increase shall be submitted to the electors, at the next annual elec- 
tion, or on some day to be set apart for that purpose; and shall not be farther en- 
tertained by the General Assembly, unless it receive the votes of a majority of all 
the persons voting. This section shall not be construed to refer to any money 
that now is, or hereafter may be, deposited with this State by the General Gov- 
ernment. 

26. The assent of two thirds of the members elected to each House of the 
General Assembly shall be requisite to every bill appropriating the public 
moneys, or property, for local or private purposes; or for creating, continuing, 
altering or renewing any body politic or corporate, banking corporations ex- 
cepted. 



27. Hereafter when any Act for the incorporation of a bank, authorized to is- 
sue its promissory notes for circulation, shall pass the two Houses of the General 
Assembly, instead of being sent to the Governor, it shall be referred to the elec- 
tors for their consideration, at the next annual election; or on some day to be 
set apart for that purpose, with printed tickets, containing the question, shall 
said bank (with a brief description thereof) be granted, or not; and if a major- 
ity of all the electors voting shall vote to grant said bank, it shall be granted, 
otherwise not. 

28. All grants of incorporation shall be subject to future acts of the General 
Assembly, in amendment or repeal thereof, or in any wise affecting the same; 
and this provision shall be inserted in all acts of incorporation hereafter grant- 
ed. 

29. The General Assembly shall exercise, as heretofore, a visitatorial power 
over corporations. Three Bank Commissioners shall be chosen at the June 
session for one year, to carry out the powers of the General Assembly in this 
respect. And Commissioners for the visitation of other corporations, as 
the General Assembly may deem expedient, shall be chosen at the June session, 
for the same term of office. 

ARTICLE II. 

Of Electors and the Right of Suffrage. 
1 . Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty one years, 
who has resided in this State for one year> and, in the town, city, or district 
where he offers to vote, for three months, next preceding an election, shall be 
an elector of all officers, who are elected, or may hereafter be made eligible by 
the People. But persons in the military, naval, or marine service of the Unit- 
ed States shall not be considered as having such established residence, by be- 
ing stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military place, in any town or city in 
this State. 

2. Paupers and persons under guardianship, insane, or lunatic are excluded 
from the electoral right ; and the same shall be forfeited on conviction of bribery, 
forgery, perjury, theft, or other infamous crime; and shall not be restored un- 
less by an act of the General Assembly. 

3. No person, who is excluded from voting, for want of the qualification first 
named in section first of this article, shall be taxed, or be liable to do military 
duty; provided, that nothing in said first article shall be so construed as to ex- 
empt from taxation any property or persons now liable to be taxed. 

4. No elector who is not possessed of, and assessed for ratabje property, in 
his own right, to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, or who shall have 
neglected, or refused to pay any tax assessed upon him, in any town, city, or 
district, for one year preceding such town, city, or district meeting at which he 
shall offer to vote, shall be entitled to vote on any question of taxation, or the 
expenditure of any public moneys in such town, city, or district, until the same 
be paid. 

5. In the city of Providence, and other cities, no person shall be eligible to 
the office of mayor, alderman, or common council man, who is not taxed, or 
who shall have neglected or refused to pay his tax, as provided in the preced- 
ing section. 

6. The voting for all officers chosen by the people, except town or city offi- 
cerSj shall be by ballot; that is to say, by depositing a written or printed ticket 



?) 



:> 



the ballot box, without the name of the voter written thereon. Town or city 
iicers shall be chosen by ballot, on the demand of any two persons entitled to 
)te for the same. 

7. There shall be a strict registration of all qualified voters in the towns and 
ties of the State; and no person shall be permitted to vote, whose name has 

t been entered upon the list of voters before the polls are opened. 

8. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for the prevention of 
audulent voting by persons not having an actual, permanent residence, or 

me, in the State, or otherwise disqualified according to this Constitution; for 
le carefui registration of all voters, previously to the time of voting; for the pre- 
sntion of frauds upon the ballot box; for the preservation of the purity of elec- 
ons; and for the safe keeping and accurate counting of the votes ; to the end 
lat the will of the people may be freely and fully expressed, truly ascertained 
nd effectually exerted, without intimidation, suppression, or unnecessary 
elay. 

9. The electors shall be exempted from arrest on. days of election, and one 
ay before, and one day after the same, except in cases of treason, feiony, or 
reach of the peace. 

10. No person shall be eligible to any office by the votes of the people, who, 
oes not possess the qualifications of an elector. 

ARTICLE III. 

Of the Dist7'ibution of Powers. 

1 . The powers of the Government shall be distributed into three departments, 
he Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial. 

2. No person or persons connected with one of these departments shall ex- 
rcise any of the powers belonging to either of the others, except in cases 
erein directed or permitted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Of the Legislative Department. 

1. The Legislative power shall be vested in two distinct Houses, the one to 
>e called the House of Representatives, the other the Senate, and both togeth- 

r the General Assembly. The concurrent votes of the two Houses shall be 
lecessary to the enactment of laws; and the style of their laws shall be — Be 
t enacted by the General Assembly, as follows. 

2. No member of the General Assembly shall be eligible to any civil office 
inder the authority of the State during the term for which he shall have been 
lected. If any Representative or Senator in the General Assembly of this 
Itate shall be appointed to any office under the Government of the United States, 
md shall accept the same, after his election as such Senator or Representative, 
lis seat shall thereby become vacant; and any person, who holds an office un- 
der the Government of the United States, may be elected a member ojf the 
Seneral Assembly, and may hold his seat therein, if at the time of his tak- 
ng his seat, he shall have resigned said office, and shall declare the same on 
Dath, or affirmation, if required. No member of the General Assembly shall 
take any fees, be of counsel, or act as advocate before either branch of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat, upon due proof thereof. 

3. Each House shall judge of the election and qualifications of its members; 
and a majority of all the members of each House, whom the towns and senato- 
rial districts are entitled to elect, shall constitute a quorum to do business; but 



s 

a smaller number may adjourn, from day today, and may compel the attendance 
of absent menbers, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House 
may have previously presciibed. 

4. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its mem- 
bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
members elected, expel a member; but not a second time for the same cause. 

5. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same 
when required by one-fifth of its members. The yeas and nays of the mem- 
bers of either House, shall, at the desire of any five members present, be en- 
tered on the journal. 

6. The Senators and Representatives shall, in all cases of civil process, be 
privileged from arrest, during the session of the General Assembly, and for two 
days before the commencement, and two days after the termination of any ses- 
sion thereof. For any speech in debate in either House, no member shall be 
called in question in any other place. 

7. The civil and military officers, heretofore elected in grand Committee, 
shall hereafter be elected annually by the General Assembly, in joint commit- 
tee, composed of the two Houses of the General Assembly, excepting as is oth- 
erwise provided in this Constitution; and excepting the captains and subalterns 
of the militia, who shall be elected by the ballots of the members composing 
their respective companies, in such manner as the General Assembly may pre- 
scribe; and such officers, so elected, shall be approved of and commissioned by 
the Governor, who shall determine their rank; and if said companies shall neg- 
lect or refuse to make such elections, after being duly notified, then the Gov- 
ernor shall appoint suitable persons to fill such offices. 

8. Every bill and every resolution requiring the concurrence of the two 
Houses (votes of adjournment excepted) which shall have passed both Houses 
of the General Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor for his revision. 
If he approve of it, he shall sign and transmit the same to the Secretary of 
State; but if not, he shall return it to the House in which it shall have origina- 
ted, with his objections thereto, which shall be entered at large on their journal. 
The House shall then proceed to reconsider the bill; and if, after such recon- 
sideration, that House shall pass it, by a majority of all the members elected, 
it shall be sent with the objections to the other House, which shall also recon- 
sider it; and, if approved by that House, by a majority of all the members elect- 
ed, it shall become a law. If the bill shall not be returned by the Governor 
within forty-eight hours (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented 
to him, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, un- 
less the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which 
case it shall not be a law. 

9. There shall be two sessions of the General Assembly in every year; one 
session at Newport, on the first Tuesday of June, for the organization of the 
government, the election of officers, and for other business; and one other ses- 
sion on the first Tuesday of January, to be held at Providence, in the first year 
after the adoption of this Constitution, and in every second year thereafter. In 
the intermediate years, the January session shall be forever hereafter held in 
the counties of Washington, Kent or Bristol, as the General Assembly may de- 
termine, before their adjournment in June. 



ARTICLE V. 

Of the House of Representatives. 

1. The House of Representatives shall consist of members chosen by the elec- 
tors in the several towns and cities, in their respective town and ward meetings, 
on the third Wednesday of April, annually. 

2. The Towns and Cities shall severally be entitled to elect mem- 
bers, according to the apportionment which follows, viz: — Newport to elect five; 
Warwick four; Smithfield five ; Cumberland, North Providence and Scituate 
three; Portsmouth, Westerly, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, South Kings- 
town, East Greenwich, Glocester, West Greenwich, Coventry, Exeter, Bristol, 
Tiverton, Little Compton, Warren, Richmond, Cranston, Charlestown, Hopkin- 
ton, Johnston, Foster and Burrillville to elect two; and Jamestown, Middletown 
and Barrington to elect one. 

3. In the city of Providence there shall be six Representative Districts, which 
shall be the six wards of said city. And the electors resident in said districts, for 
the term of three months, next preceding an election, shall be entitled to elect two 
Representatives for each district. 

4. The General Assembly, in case of great inequality in the population of the 
wards of the city of Providence, may cause the boundaries of the six Represen- 
tative districts therein to be so altered as to include in each district, as nearly as 
may be, an equal number of inhabitants. 

5. The House of Representatives shall have authority to elect their own 
Speaker, clerks and other officers. The oath of office shall be administered to 
the Speaker by the Secretary of State, or, in his absence, by the Attorney Gen- 
eral. 

6. Whenever the seat ef a member of the House of Representatives shall be 
vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new 
election. 

ARTICLE VI. 

Of the Senate. 

1. The State shall be divided into twelve Senatorial Districts; and each dis- 
trict shall be entitled to one Senator, who shall be annually chosen by the ma-. 
jority of the electors in his district. 

2. The first, second and third, Representative Districts in the City of Provi- 
dence shall constitute the first Senatorial District ; the fourth, fifth and sixth 
Representative Districts in said City, the second District; the Town of Smith- 
field the third District; the Towns of North Providence and Cumberland the 
fourth District ; the Towns of Scituate, Glocester. Burrillville and Johnston 
the fifth District ; the Towns of Warwick and Cranston the sixth District; the 
Towns of East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Coventry and Foster the seventh 
District; the Towns of Newport, Jamestown and New Shoreham the eighth 
District; the Towns of Portsmouth, Middletown, Tiverton and Little Comp- 
ton the ninth District; the Towns of North Kingstown and South Kingstown the 
tenth District ; the Towns of Westerly, Charlestown, Exeter, Richmond and 
Hopkinton the eleventh District: the Towns of Bristol, Warren and Barrington 
the twelfth District. 

3. The Lieutenant Governor shall be, by virtue of his office, President of 
the Senate; and shall have a right, in case of an equal division, to vote in the 
same; and also to vote in joint committee ot the two Houses, 



10 

4. When the Government shall be administered by the Lieutenant Governor, 
or he shall be unable to attend as President of the Senate, the Senate shall e- 
lect one of their own members President of the Senate. 

5. Vacancies in the Senate, occasioned by death, resignation, or otheiwise, 
shall be filled by the two Houses in joint committee. 

6. The Secretary of State shall be by virtue of his office Secretary of the 
Senate 

ARTICLE VII. 

Of Impeachments. 

1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment, 

2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate-, and when sitting for thai 
purpose they shall be an oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted ex- 
cept by vote of two thirds of the members elected. When the Governor is im- 
peached, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, with a casting 
vote. 

3. The Governor and all other Executive and Judicial officers shall be liable 
to impeachment; but judgments in such cases shall not extend further than to 
removal from office. The party convicted shall nevertheless be liable to indict- 
ment, trial and punishment, according to law. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

Of the Executive Department. 

1. The Chief Executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor, 
who shall be chosen by the qualified electors, and shall hold his office for one 
year, and until his successor be duly qualified. 

2. No person holding any office or place under the United States, this State, 
or any other Power, shall exercise the office of Governor. 

3. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. 

4. He shall be commander in chief of the military and naval forces of the 
State, except when called into the actual service of the United States; but he 
shall not march, nor convey any of the citizens out of the State without their 
consent, or that of the General Assembly, unless it shall become necessary, in 
order to march or transport them from one part of the state to another, for the 
defense thereof. 

5. He shall appoint all civil and military officers, whose appointment is not 
by this Constitution, or shall not, by law, be otherwise provided for. 

6. He shall, from time to time, inform the General Assembly of the condit- 
ion of the State; and recommend to their consideration such measures as he 
may deem expedient. 

7. He may require from any military officer, or any officer in the executive 
department, information upon any subject relating to the duties of his office. 

8. He shall have power to remit, after conviction, all forfeitures and penal 
ties; and to grant reprieves, commutation of punishments, and pardons, except 
in cases of impeachment. 

9. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
tion, which shall not be increased, nor diminished, during his continuance in of- 
fice. 

10. There shall be elected, in the same manner as is provided for the election 
of Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, who shall continue in office for the same 



It 

term of time. Whenever the office of Governor shall become vacant by death, 
resignation, removal from office or otherwise, the Lieutenant Governor shall ex- 
ercise the office of Governor, until another Governor shall be duly qualified. 

11. Whenever the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall both 
become vacant, by death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the 
Senate shall elect a President, who shall exercise the office of Governor until a 
Governor be duly qualified; and should such vacancies occur during* a recess of 
the General Assembly, the Secretary of State, shall, by proclamation, con- 
vene the Senate, that a President may be chosen to exercise the office of Gover- 
nor. Whenever the Lieutenant Governor, or President of the Senate, shall ex- 
ercise the office of Governor, he shall receive the compensation of Governor on- 
ly ; and his duties as President of the Senate shall cease while he shall con- 
tinue to act as Governor; and the Senate shall fill the vacancy by an election 
from their own body. 

1*2 In case of a disagreement between the two Houses of the General As- 
sembly respecting the time or place of adjournment, the person exercising the 
office of Governor may adjourn them to such time or place as he shall think 
proper; provided, that the time of adjournment shall not be extended beyond 
the 'day of the next stated session. 

13. The person exercising the office of Governor may, in cases of special 
necessity, convene the General Assembly at any town, or city, in this State, at 
any other time than herein before provided. And, in case of danger, from the 
prevalence of epidemic or contagious diseases, or from other circumstances, in 
the place, in which the General Assembly are next to meet, he may, by pro- 
clamation, convene the Assembly at any other place within the State. 

14. A Secretary of State, a General Treasurer, and an Attorney General shall 
also be chosen annually, in the same manner and for the same time as is herein 
provided for the choice ot Governor. The duties of these officers shall be the 
same as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by law. ShouM there be a fail- 
use to choose either of them, or should a vacancy occur in either of their offices, 
the General Assembly shall fill the place by an election in joint committee. 

15. The electors in each county shall, at the annual elections in April, vote 
for an inhabitant of the county, qualified as an elector, to be Sheriff of said 
county, for one year, and until a successor be duly qualified. In case no per- 
son shall have a majority of the electoral votes of his county for Sheriff, the 
General Assembly, in joint committee, shall elect a Sheriff from the two candi- 
dates, who shall have the greatest number of votes in such county. 

16. All commissions shall be in the name of the State of Rhode-Island and 
Providence Plantations, sealed with the seal of the State, and attested by the 
Secretary. 

ARTICLE IX. 
Of Elections. 

1. The election of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, 
General Treasurer, Attorney General, and also of Senators and Representatives 
to the General Assembly, shall be held on the third Wednesday of April, annual- 

2. The names of the persons voted for as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, 
Secretary of State, General Treasurer and Attorney General shall be put upon 
one ticket; and the tickets shall be deposited by the electors in a box by them- 
selves. The names of the persons voted for as Senators, and also of those 



12 

voted for as Representatives shall be put upon separate tickets, and the tickets 
shall be deposited in separate boxes ; and the polls for all the officers named in 
this section shall be opened at the same time. 

3. All the votes given for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, 
General Treasurer, Attorney General and Senators, shall remain in the ballot 
boxes till the polls be closed. The votes shall then, in open town and ward 
meetings, and in the presence of at least ten qualified voters, be taken out and 
sealed up, in separate envelopes, by the moderators and town clerks, and by the 
wardens and ward clerks, who shall forthwith deliver or send them to the Secre- 
tary of State, whose duty it shall be securely to keep the same, and to deliver 
the votes for State officers to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, af- 
ter the House shall be duly organized, at the June Session of the General As- 
sembly. The votes last named shall, without delay, be opened, counted and de- 
clared, in such manner as the House of Representatives shall direct; and the 
oath of office shall be administered to the persons who shall be declared to be 
elected, by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in the presence of 
the House. The votes for Senators shall be counted by the Governor and Se- 
cretary of State within seven days from the day of election; and the Governor 
shall give certificates to the Senators who are elected. 

4. The votes lor Representatives to the General Assembly in the several 
towns shall be deposited in separate boxes, which shall not be opened till the 
polls for Representatives are declared to be closed. The votes shall then be 
counted by the moderator and clerk, who shall announce the result, and give 
certificates to the persons elected. If there be no election, or not an election 
of the whole number of Representatives, to which the town is entitled, the 
polls for Representatives shall be re-opened and the like proceedings had, until 
an election shall take place. But an adjournment may be made, in case of a 
second failure, to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting. 

5. In the city of Providence, and other cities, the polls for Representatives 
shall be kept, open during the whole time of voting for the day; and the votes in 
the several wards shall be sealed up, at the close of the meeting, by the wardens 
and ward clerks, in the presence of at least ten qualified electors, and delivered 
to the city clerks. The mayor and aldermen of said city, or cities, shall pro- 
ceed to count said votes within two days from the day of election; and if no e- 
lection, or an election of only a portion of the Representatives, whom the Rep- 
resentative Districts are entitled to elect, shall have taken place, the mayor and 
aldermen shall order a new election, to be held not more than nine days from the 
day of the first election; and so on till the election of Representatives shall be 
completed. Certificates of election shall be furnished by the city clerks. 

6. If there be no choice of a Senator, or Senators, at the annual election, the 
Governor shall issue his warrant to the town and ward clerks of the several towns 
and cities, in the Senatorial District or Districts, that may have failed to elect, 
requiring them to open town and ward meetings for another election, on a day 
not more than fifteen days beyond the time of counting the votes for Senators. 
If, on this second trial there shall be no choice of a Senator, or Senators, the 
Governor shall certify the result to the Speaker of the House cff Representa- 
tives; and the House of Representatives, and as many Senators as shall have 
been chosen, shall forthwith elect, in joint committee, a Senator or Senators, 
from the two candidates, who may receive the highest number of votes in each 
district. 



13 

7. Il there be no choice of Governor at the annual election, the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives shall issue his warrant to the clerks of the several 
towns and cities, requiring them to warn town and ward meetings for another 
election, on a day to be named by him, not more than thirty, nor less than twen- 
ty days beyond the time of receiving the report of the committee of the House 
of Representatives, who shall count the votes for Governor. If, on this second 
trial there shall be no choice of a Governor, the two Houses of the General As- 
sembly, in joint committee, shall, at their next session, elect a Governor, 
from the two candidates having the highest number of votes, to hold his office 
as herein provided. 

8. If there be no choice of Governor and Lieutenant Governor at the annual 
election, the same proceedings for the choice of a Lieutenant Governor shall be 
had as are directed in the preceding section ; provided that the second trial for 
the election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be on the same day ; 
and also provided, that, if the Governor shall be chosen at the annual election, 
and the Lieutenant Governor shall not be chosen, then the last named officer 
shall be elected in joint committee of the two Houses, from the two candi- 
dates having the highest number of votes, without a further appeal to the elect- 
tors. 

9. All town, city, and ward meetings for the choice of Representatives, Sen- 
ators, State Officers, Representatives to Congress, and Electors of President and 
Vice President shall be warned by the town, city, or ward clerks, at least seven 
days before the same are held. 

10. In all elections held by the people under this Constitution, a majority of 
all the electors voting shall be necessary to the choice of the person or persons 
voted for. 

11. The oath, or affirmation, to be taken by all the officers named in this article 
shall be the following. You, being elected to the place of Governor, Lieuten- 
ant Governor, Secretary of State, General Treasurer, Attorney General, or the 
places of Senators or Representatives, do solemnly swear, or severally solemnly 
swear, or affirm, that you will be true and faithful to the State of Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, and that you will support the Constitution thereof; 
that you will support the Constitution of the United States, and that you will 
faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of your aforesaid office, to the best 
of your abilities and understanding — So help you God! or, this affirmation you 
make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury. 

ARTICLE X. 

Of the Judiciary. 

1. The Judicial power of this State shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and 
in such other Courts, inferior to the Supreme Court, as the Legislature may, from 
time to time, ordain and establish ; and the jurisdiction of the Supreme and of all 
Dther Courts, may, from time to time, be regulated by the General Assembly. 

2. Chancery powers may be conferred on the Supreme court ; but no other 
Court exercising chancery powers shall be established in this State. 

3. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected in joint Committee of 
the two Houses, to hold their offices for one year, and until their places, or the 
place of any one of them, be declared vacant by a resolution to that effect, which 
shall be voted for by a majority of all the members elected to the Honse in which 
t may originate, and be concurred in by the same vote of the other House, with- 



14 

out revision by the Governor. Such resolution shall not be entertained at any 
other than the annual session for the election of public officers ; and, in default of 
the passage thereof at the said session, the^udge, or Judges, shall hold his or their 
places for another year. But a Judge of'tfits^conrt shall be removable from of* 
fice, if, upon impeachment, he shall be found guilty of any official misdemeanor 

4. In case of vacancy by the death, resignation, refusal, or inability to serve> 
or absence from the State of a Judge of this Court, his place may be filled by the 
joint committee, until the next annual election; when, if elected, he shall hold 
his office as before provided. 

5. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall receive a compensatien, which 
shall not be diminished during their official term of one year. 

6. The Judges of the Courts inferior to the Supreme Court shall be annually 
elected in joint committee of the two Houses, except as herein provided. 

7. There shall be annually elected by each town, and by the several wards in 
the City of Providence, a sufficient numbers of Justices of the Peace, or Wardens, 
resident therein, with such jurisdiction as the General Assembly may prescribe. 
And said Justices, (except in the towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown) shall 
be commissioned by the Governor. 

8. The Judges of the Courts shall, in all trials, state the testimony and declare 
the law to the jury. 

9. The Courts of Probate in this State shall remain as at present established 
by law, until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe. 

ARTICLE XI. 

Of Education. 

1. All moneys which now are, or may hereafter be appropriated, by the 
authority of the State, to the School Fund, shall be securely invested, and re- 
main a perpetual fund for the maintainance of Public Schools in this State; and 
the General Assembly are prohibited from diverting said fund from this use, and 
from borrowing, appropriating, or using the same, or any part thereof, for any 
other purpose, or under any pretense whatsoever. But the income derived from 
said fuud shall be annually paid over, by the General Treasurer, to the towns 
and cities of the State, for the support of said schools, in equal proportions, ac- 
cording to their population, as ascertained by the census of the United States. 
The several towns and cities shall faithfully devote their portions of said annual 
distribution to said purpose; and, in default thereof, shall forfeit their shares of 
the same, to the benefit of the other towns and cities, for such time as shall be 
prescribed by law. 

2. All charitable donations for the support of Free Schools, and other pur- 
poses of Public Education, shall be received by the General Assembly, and in- 
vested, and applied agreeably to the terms prescrihed by the donors; provided 
the same be not inconsistent with the Constitution, or with sound public policy; 
in which case the donation shall not be received. 

3. The General Assembly shall make all the necessary provisions by law for 
carrying this article into effect. 

ARTICLE XII. 
Amendments. 

The General Assembly may propose Amendments to this Constitution by the 
vote of a majority of all the members elected to each House. Such proposition? 



15 4 

all be published in <aft the newspapers^ the State; and printed copies of 
id propositions shall be sent by the Secretary of State, with the. names of all the 
embers who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town 
id city clerks in the State; and the said propositions shall be by said clerks 
serted in the warrants, or notices, by them issued, for warning the next annual 
wn and ward meetings in April, and the clerks shall read said propositions to 
e electors when thus assembled, with the names of all the Representatives and 
enators who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the e- 
ction of Representatives and Senators shall be had — It a majority of all the 
embers elected at said annual meetings, present in each House, shall approve 
ly proposition thus made, the same shall be published, as before provided, and 
en sent to the electors in the mode provided in the act of approval; and, if then 
>proved by a majority of all the qualified electors of the State, in town and 
ard meetings, to be specially convened for that purpose, it shall become a part 
^the Constitution of the State. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

General Provisions. 

1. This Constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation on the first Tuesday 
'May in the year one thousand, eight hundred and forty two. The first e- 

ection of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney Gen- 
ral and General Treasurer, and of Representatives and Senators under said 
onstitution shall be had on the third Wednesday of April next preceding. — 
\11 civil, judicial and military officers now elected, or who shall hereafter be 
lected by the General Assembly, or other competent authority, before the said 
rst Tuesday of May, shall hold their offices and may exercise their powers 
ntil that time. All laws and statutes, public and private, now in force, and not 
epugnant to this Constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their 
wn limitation, or are repealed by the General Assembly. All contracts, judg- 
ments, actions, and rights of action, shall be as valid as if this Constitution had 
lot been made. The present government shall exercise all the powers, not re- 
>ugnant to this Constitution, with which it is now clothed, until the said first 
Tuesday of May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and until their 
successors under this Constitution are duly elected and qualified. 

2. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the State, as if this Constitution 
lad not been formed. 

3. This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the State; and the Judges 
of all the Courts, and all other officers, both civil and military, shall be bound 
by oath or affirmation, to its due observance. 

4. The Supreme Court, established by this Constitution, shall have the same 
jurisdiction as the Supreme Judicial Court at present established; and shall have 
jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed to, or pending in the same; 
and shall be held at the same times and places, in each county, as the present 
Supreme.Judicial Court, until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe. 

5. The citizens of the town of New Shoreham shall hereafter have the same ex- 
emptions from military duty, and the duty of serving as jurors in the Courts of 
this State, which they now have or ever had. And the citizens of the town of 
Jamestown shall be forever hereafter exempted from military field duty. 

6. The General Assembly shall not pass any law, or cause any act or thing to 



16 

be done, in any way to disturb any of the owners or occupants of land in any terri- 
tory now under the jurisdiction of any other State, or States, the jurisdiction 
whereof may be ceded to, or decreed to belong to this State; and the inhabitants 
of such territory shall continue in the full, quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of 
their titles to the same, without interference in any way on the part of this 
State. Nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prevent the Gen- 
eral Assembly from assigning to any town or towns, now under another jurisdic- 
tion, that may be hereafter annexed to this State, an equitable representation in the 
General Assembly; and the General Assembly may constitute said town or 
towns, if of sufficient population, a senatorial district, or districts, or annex the 
said town or towns to another district, or to other districts, as may be deemed 
expedient. 

Propositions not acted upon. . 

1. No jurisdiction shall hereafter be'entertained by the General Assembly, in 
cases of insolvency, divorce, sale of real estate of minors, appeal from judic- 
ial decisions, or of any other matters appertaining to the jurisdiction of Judges, 
and Courts of law, except as is provided in this Constitution. 

2. No city council, or other government, in any city, shall have power to vote 
any tax upon the inhabitants thereof, excepting the amount necessary to meet 
the ordinary public expenses in the same, without first submitting the question of 
an additional tax, or taxes, to the electors of said city; and a majority of all who 
vote shall determine the question. But no elector shall be entitled to vote, in 
any city, upon any question of taxation thus submitted, unless he shall be qual- 
ified by the possesion, in his own right, of ratable property to the amount of 
<me hundred and fifty dollars, and shall have been assessed thereon to pay a tax, 
and shall have paid the same, as provided for in section fourth of Article II.— 
Nothing in that Article shall be so construed as to prevent any elector from vot- 
ing for town officers, and, in the city of Providence, and other cities, for may- 
or, aldermen, and members of the common council. 

3. A proposition to secure a jury trial to persons in this State, who are claim- 
ed to be held to labor or service under the laws of any other State. 



